Victorian health official slammed over coronavirus comparison

Victoria’s deputy health chief has ignited a social media storm after comparing Captain Cook’s arrival in Australia to the coronavirus.

Dr Annaliese van Diemen, Dr Brett Sutton’s deputy, posted the controversial comparison on Twitter.

“Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID19 of Cook 1770?” she wrote.

The tweeted prompted anger online, and Tom Elliott concurred with the critics.

“I couldn’t be more angry about this,” the 3AW Drive host said.

“The political correctness that has infected parts of our medical establishment is just mind-boggling.”

Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror. Forces the population to make enormous sacrifices & completely change how they live in order to survive. COVID19 or Cook 1770?

— Dr Annaliese van Diemen (@annaliesevd) April 29, 2020

Since then, Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier added her voice to the criticism.

“Her judgment in this is lacking severely, espousing her own ideology,” Ms Crozier said.

The doctor’s tweet remains online.

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